78g Review - Black Broad Nib

[watch_art]

THe Pilot 78G in Black. Broad nib.

 

Wow this thing is well made. Between this and the Prera (which goes for about $40 at Jetpens) I'd pick this one out at the more expensive if I didn't know any better. The screw on cap does it I think. The plastic feels exactly like the Prera to me. Maybe I'm wrong. But the Prera does have the advantage in color choice. It's also thicker which I like, but shorter, which I don't like. So even posted it's a bit too short.

 

pen

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4127/4997629246_2dd7c30024.jpg

008 by watch_art2010, on Flickr

 

 

The nib is very smooth, though a TINY bit dry, which I adjusted to my taste. Spread the tines a little bit and hacked the feed a bit. Not a LOT wetter, but much better than before.

Smooth smooth smooth. Not so sure I'm loving the italic nib. Yeah it says broad, but it writes like an italic from Sheaffer or Lamy. I wish it wrote a bit thicker in all directions.

 

nib

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/4997023287_0fc50b1725.jpg

007 by watch_art2010, on Flickr

 

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4087/4997629060_ac80646966.jpg

006 by watch_art2010, on Flickr

 

The filling is a neat lookin squeeze bar. I might put this in my 742 later on... Fills easily and you can see the sac expand as it sucks in ink. Squeeze 3 or 4 times and count to 10.

 

pieces

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4086/4997629426_bdc832ef60_z.jpg

009 by watch_art2010, on Flickr

 

 

filler

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4110/4997023605_96f148d665.jpg

010 by watch_art2010, on Flickr

 

 

And all for $10 from stationeryart.com. That's spelled with an E. I ordered it Sept 6 and got it today. 10 DAYS!! That's the quickest I've ever gotten something from China. I wasn't expecting it for another couple of weeks.

 

Great little pen, but I think I'd prefer a fine or medium nib on it. Love the black though, looks so nice. And the painted on cap rings don't look as cheap against the black plastic as they do against the turquoise plastic.

Edited September 17, 2010 by watch_art

[vans4444]

Thanks for the review. Yes I agree the 78G is a great pen for the money. I have never tried a B but the M and F nibs I have used have good ink flow, certainly not dry.

[somnath1077]

Hi Watch_art,

 

Thanks for the review. I myself am waiting for a 78G in black with a broad nib! My pen was shipped from Hong Kong 10 days ago and I hope to get it by next week. Could you please post pictures of some writing samples? When you say that the pen is a little on the dry side, how dry would it be compared to Pelikan pens (the M200 for instance)?

 

Best,

 

Somnath.

Edited September 17, 2010 by somnath1077

[rollerboy]

Fantastic inexpensive pens, well deserving of the praise they receive.

 

I'm curious though, how can you "wish [your broad nib] wrote a bit thicker in all directions" but also "think [you'd] prefer a fine or medium nib"?

[thrage1]

I think he means that side to side the nib writes a finer line and vertical lines are thicker like italic nibs

[watch_art]

Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of italic nibs. I wish it were a broad on side strokes as well as downstrokes, like my Lamy broad.

 

Wetness compared to a Pelikan? Not even close until you modify it, then it's pretty close. But I spread the tines a bit and hacked the feed a tiny bit. I think I'm gonna hack the feed a bit more actually. I'll get some writing samples up later.

 

 

[jpeck]

Thanks for the great review. Myself have a black 78G with broad (italic) nib, and it, too, is a dry writer.

How did you "hack" the feed? I think my feed or the tines needs some adjustment.

 

 

 

Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of italic nibs. I wish it were a broad on side strokes as well as downstrokes, like my Lamy broad.

 

Wetness compared to a Pelikan? Not even close until you modify it, then it's pretty close. But I spread the tines a bit and hacked the feed a tiny bit. I think I'm gonna hack the feed a bit more actually. I'll get some writing samples up later.

[tuintu]

nice review.

 

i had ordered an F nib 78G from stationaryart.com Hong Kong on 12th September, and today entered into Turkey.

 

i think i'll get it on Monday. actually i don't like dry nibs, i hope it has a bit wet nib.

[watch_art]

hacking a feed

 

take it a little at a time. you can always go in and cut more later, but if you cut too much at first, you can ruin it. it's a cheap pen, but you still don't want to ruin it.

 

video at this thread...

http://www.fountainp..._1#entry1586434

 

 

 

also, don't cut the air channel any closer to the tip than it already is. only try to make the channel wider, not longer. an exacto or razor blade will do the trick.

 

bending the nib...

 

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4105/4997459368_74e9041f6e_b.jpg

bendnib by watch_art2010, on Flickr

 

I know I drew the fingernail over the middle of the feed, but you want it in front of the feed.

another way to bend the tines up is to just draw straight lines on a hard surface like formica or glass with extra pressure. Use little pressure, as it's easier to bend away more than it is to fix it after you've bent it all to hell.

 

Have fun!

 

Oh, and this counts as a writing sample with the B nib.

Edited September 17, 2010 by watch_art

[Sailor Kenshin]

Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of italic nibs. I wish it were a broad on side strokes as well as downstrokes, like my Lamy broad.

 

Wetness compared to a Pelikan? Not even close until you modify it, then it's pretty close. But I spread the tines a bit and hacked the feed a tiny bit. I think I'm gonna hack the feed a bit more actually. I'll get some writing samples up later.

 

 

Love the samples as always.

 

Yeah, their B is definitely an italit---NO tipping. I'd like a true tipped B one of these days myself (in the meantime, I can play with my B Gui Gan).

[fabrimedeiros]

I love Stub and Italic nibs myself! There is also BB nib of this pen, but is hard to find. If anyone knows where I can buy it, please, tell me.

[watch_art]

Here's a vid I made. Might hear Harry Potter in the background....

The more I use this thing, the less I like it. I just really don't care for italic nibs.

 

Anybody got a 78g F you'd like to trade?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKcqp6oFlcg

[vans4444]

Interesting vid, thanks. Your handwriting is so much better than mine. I need a Western F for the letters to be reasonable well defined. If I used a wet B the words would be a series of blobs that would look like a mini mountain scene.

[watch_art]

thanks. but you gotta remember the B on this pen is more of an italic than an actual broad. it makes skinny sidestrokes. not really loving it.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Whoa!

 

For a minute there I thought you were gonna either cut your wrists in frustration or murder the pen....

 

Give it another chance or three. It makes your writing beautiful and you did say it was inexpensive.

 

Don't get rid of it so quick. One day you might think, "Gee, I sure wish I had an italic pen. Oh, wait, I used to!"

[watch_art]

cut my wrists??? You're silly.

 

My wife has several nice italics so that if I ever want one I can use one of hers. Thinking about making it an eyedropper since it seems so well designed to be made into one.

[Sailor Kenshin]

You never know what special effects you can create.

[Ipno Tizer]

I've got the 78G BB, which I found in an antiques shop in Portsmouth historic dockyard earlier this month, even though it was brand new and certainly not an antique. It only cost me three quid too, which I don't think was bad going. It's interesting too because this is the only time I've ever seen these on sale in th UK.

 

I suppose you could say the fed it a bit dry but it's not as dry as the Pluminix. And as far as the BB is concerned, with a sizeable italic nib, it's probably better that it's not too wet anyway.

 

Bit I want to get all the colours. The one I've got is black so I want the blue, green and red in the broad, medium and fine.

 

Chris B.

[Heirphoto]

I've got the 78G in both B and BB. Great little pen for the money. I got mine off of Speerbob on ebay, a $19.95 BIN and they arrived in about 3 days via Priority Mail.

 

The B is great and I carry it every day for general use. Plenty of line variation when I print. The BB is nice too but a bit more limiting in application. It really seems more of a calligraphy nib being so wide but is fun for doodles and graphics, not so much for actual writing.

 

The rounded corners on the nib make for easy writing so the pen never catches in use. I just got a Pendleton Point Namiki VP insert that has a similar width to the B but hard, crisp corners. It is taking some getting used to but lays down a line variation that goes from an EF on the horizontals to an easy B on the verticals. I think the Pendleton Point is a bargain and gives a nice touch to ones writing.

 

Tony

[USMCMom]

The 2 Pilot 78G pens I ordered, arrived today. I've inked one of the two and I agree with watch_art ... I'm not impressed. Actually, I'm disappointed. Although i prefer heavier pens, I knew this would be a light weight pen, so that was no surprise. What was a surprise, was the nib. I ordered a broad nib, but this doesn't write like any broad nib I've ever used. The pen doesn't write very smoothly and the corners of the nib are sharp and could probably cure someone from allowing the nib to roll a bit, when it tears the paper.

 

While it's true ... this is a very inexpensive pen, it doesn't carry the name of an unknown. I think Pilot should care about all of their pens enough to pay attention to the nibs. If someone knew what they were doing, the nib could probably be greatly improved, but I can't help but wonder ... is a pen that carried a less than $10 price tag, worth what it would cost to have the nib worked on?? Guess it depends on how much you love the pen and if someone would even be willing to bother with it. LOL

 

Please excuse the lousy picture, but I can't get it to come out any better with my cell phone. I'm going to have to get a decent camera some day!

 

http://i881.photobuc...CMom/photo2.jpg

Edited September 19, 2010 by USMCMom